Cursed
by ClockwerkOrange
Summary: Tak and Zim are ordered to work together, right after she attempts to murder him. Now, she seems more stable - docile, even - but revenge is something that can be hidden, but not forgotten. Rated T for possible threat of death. Waka waka.
1. Continuing

_Four Days Earlier._

Tak emerged slowly from the smoking wreckage that used to be her old Spittle Runner's escape pod. She looked back at the burning heap of metal, and clenched her bloodied fist – she'd had to punch through the glass. She gasped sharply as the tattered scraps of her glove rubbed against the wound. She used her left hand to quickly tear off what was left of the glove, and then she continued walking. She limped, slowly, out of the smoldering crater. There was a clacking noise, and she looked back at the escape pod just in time to see it explode. The force of the blast threw her forward a few feet.

She struggled back up. "Zim…" she rasped, voice weak from disuse. "I will have my revenge…"

_Present Day._

I snatched my lunch bag off of the couch and kept moving. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror right before the door; I swiped off a few crumbs left on my shirt from my hastily-devoured bagel, and I ran my hand over my black hair, making sure it didn't look too bad. I undid the latch on the door, twisted the knob firmly, and pulled the door in.

Outside, the air was clear, and the birds were singing.

"How I detest this planet!" I chirped solemnly, but kept walking. I stopped on the edge of the cul-de-sac that was my neighborhood, and I ran a hand – and practiced eye – over my sleek and sparkly Chevrolet Impala. All black – but with a simple, white rendition of an Irken insignia painted on the hood. _Stylish_, I thought slyly, for what felt like the nine-thousand and first day in a row. My thoughts faded back to the day I found the same model at a human "car dealership" about two Earth years ago. I wouldn't buy that inferior Earth trash, no – but I liked the look of it.

_Besides_, I thought, climbing into the driver's seat, _a car would help me blend in with the indigenous vermin _much_ better; no doubt about that. _

It was simple to replicate the basic structure, but with Irken parts, the car runs like an overexcited green dog.

_Wait…_

"Hiya, master!" GIR squealed from the passenger seat.

"GIR!" I moaned, sighing with infinite exasperated annoyance. "How many times have I told you not to get into my car without my permission?"

"I forget!" GIR squeaked.

"A lot," I said dryly. I put my lunch bag in the passenger seat's floorboard, and then I turned the key. The car's engine flared to life. I glanced around, making sure I wouldn't murder any pedestrians, and I shifted the car into drive.

Upon parking my car, convincing GIR to fly himself back home, going up the stairs to the floor that my locker was on, and then actually using my locker, I closed it to find _the Dib_ staring at me.

"Cactus-haired bespectacled meat beast," I noted, with a casual nod of my head. I pretended to straighten my wig. I glanced at him to find his attention still completely devoted to me. "Did I forget my contacts this morning or something?"

"I wish," Dib muttered.

The Dib had grown vertically, as had I – apparently the Earth's gravitational field is much less powerful than that of Irk, or most of the planets near it, oddly. _That's one good thing about this orb of… goo,_ I thought. It was well that my stature had increased so quickly – it almost perfectly emulated the natural height-wise growth cycles of the humans on the planet. Even the Almighty Tallest were surprised – although they were much taller than me, still.

"You're stupid," I said flatly.

"That wasn't nice," Dib stated, not amused behind his glasses. He pushed his locker closed with a metallic-like crunch.

"Well, that's the point, isn't it?" I replied. I pushed on my locker once to make sure it was shut, and then turned.

"I know you're planning something, you know," Dib ventured.

I raised an invisible eyebrow. "Really?" I began walking in the direction of my first class.

"Yeah. They're opening that new supercomputer exhibit at the museum – what most people don't realize is that one kind of old supercomputer still rivals the processing power of several new computers! I think you're gonna try something there," Dib finished, obviously proud of himself.

I rolled my eyes. "Dib, my base is packed with extraordinarily advanced Irken electronics. Why would I _ever _want any of your planet's inferior, pathetic, glorified calculators?" I paused for effect. "Although, you may be right."

I glanced at Dib's expression of shock – odd gold eyes colored over with suspicion.

I couldn't maintain a straight face; I burst into laughter.

"We'll see who's laughing when I _save_ the _world_!" Dib countered sharply.

I shook my head. "You humans make me sick. You always refer to Earth as '_the_' world," I said bitterly. "You're _'a_' world. If any world is '_the_' world, it's Irk."

Dib cleared his throat. "We'll see who's laughing when I save _a_ world!"

"Wow, you must be really cool to correct that sentence, and then say it," I said sourly.

"Maybe I am," Dib said. "Maybe I am."

The classes at the High Skool passed without any real issue. I scored a one hundred on a quiz in Chemistry, and I threw a badminton shuttle at Dib; I even faced the other direction and pretended that I didn't, much to the amusement of my classmates. One of them even clapped me on the back and said that I was "alright". The Goth chick gave me her number.

As I pulled up to my house, right in the center of the end of the cul-de-sac, I saw a small flicker near the lamppost closest to my house. _Odd,_ I thought. _Was that the light, or was it a shadow…?_ I felt a strange tingle on the back of my neck. _Something's wrong, _I thought absently; however, with no real evidence to back it up, I shook the negative thought away, and put the car in park. I turned off the engine, grabbed my keys, and climbed out of the vehicle. I had stopped at the grocery store to check the sales rack for a Panini press – I was desperately in need of one – and that had attributed, along with the fact that it was going to be November in just a week, so the days were getting shorter, to the darkness surrounding me at that moment.

I looked at the keys in my hands, and grasped the remote locking device. I tapped it twice – can't be too careful, especially with _humans_ milling about – and listened to the resounding double beep. I noticed that I could see my breath. That was probably when she snuck up on me with that shovel.

It whistled through the air rapidly, and caught me around the side of my head with a dull thud. I collapsed forward, and my forehead smacked the window of my car. The glass wasn't shattered, but my skull felt like it was. While I busied myself with clutching my throbbing head, I felt someone looming over me. My eyes strained open in the wake of the pain, and I squinted.

I looked up to see Tak's – the vengeful challenger to my mission's – face, and then foot, heading for my head.

I felt a dull impact, and the world faded…

**[Author's Note:**

**This story will definitely not be as long as A Space Odyssey from Beyond the Stars. Also, in case you haven't noticed already, it will not be taking place within the Odyssey timeline. I'm estimating that this story will last about three, maybe four chapters. Possibly more, but if I get too much into it, smack me. **

**No, really.**

**~ClockwerkOrange]**


	2. Executive Decision

"I'm glad," I heard a voice say, before I knew I was awake again, "that you could be awake for this."

I looked around, highly disoriented. I was in my living room. I tried to move, and noticed shortly afterward that I was tied up with an elastic rope that most closely resembled a bungee cord.

"_Tak_," I spat, glaring at her, hating her. "You took your time coming back. I thought you were dead."

Tak's eyes narrowed at the last word of my sentence. "I was gone for three months."

I looked her up and down. She was standing in front of my television, holding a remote control for _my_ house. She was about the same height as she had been the last time I saw her, several years ago.

_That puts me at about her height,_ I thought with an internal smirk.

She grimaced, noticing my inspection of her. "Time warps," she said gruffly, to which I nodded.

"So," I said, glancing around. "Any reason you're back?"

"'Any reason I'm _back'_?" she repeated, shooting me a horrible glare. She started breathing rapidly. "Of course there's a _reason_!" she roared. She threw the remote hard against the wall, where it broke on contact. The pieces clattered onto the ground.

I eyed her carefully from my vantage point, tied up on the sofa. She had a wild look in her eyes. Not uncivilized, just furious…

"You disgraced me in front of the Empire – in front of the _Tallest_! You _ruined_ my plan, and you _ruined_ my _life_ even _more_ than you had _already_!" she screamed. Her purple eyes were sharp and flinty. She glanced around the room, suddenly apprehensive.

I swore mentally. She was showing off mild symptoms of paranoia.

"And most of all…" she said quietly, "you didn't let me get my _revenge…_"

"I thought you said 'it wasn't about revenge'," I said with a smirk.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, moving closer. "Here, I found something useful. Let me go _fetch_ it…" she said quickly, and dashed off to the kitchen.

I continued being still on the sofa, tied up. I glanced around, wondering where GIR was.

"H-here we are," she said, holding my brand-new Japanese butcher knife.

It doesn't look like the three months alone in space improved her personality. She stuck the tip of the blade under my chin, where it touched my neck dangerously.

"I wonder if you'll beg for your life?" she asked curiously.

_Beep beep!_

"What was that?" Tak asked, glancing around. The blade was still touching my neck.

My television lit up, showing the Almighty Tallest. Purple had a smoothie.

"Oh, er…" Red said, seeing Tak. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked slyly.

"My Tallest!" Tak said, pulling away the knife.

"Is that a knife?" Purple asked, gesturing with the smoothie cup.

Tak stared at the blade in her hand, and deftly hid it behind her back. "No."

"You know, Purple," Red said slowly, "I think it was."

"I'm thinking so, too," Purple agreed.

"So, Tak, you've come back to planet…" Red trailed off. "What was the planet called, again?"

"Earth," I reminded him, still slightly shaken from the encounter at knifepoint, although I would never admit it.

"Right," Red said, nodding his head. "Tak, I'm going to go ahead and order you not to stab Zim. In fact, I'd like you two to work together."

Tak stared blankly at the screen. "Y-you… Tallest… my Tallest, you must be joking!" she exclaimed incredulously.

"I assure you, I'm not," Red said flatly. "Invader Zim has taken far too long in conquering Earth."

"We aren't upset!" Purple chirped.

Red chuckled. "Oh, no," he said, shaking his head. "No, Zim can take as much time as he needs."

"But you can help," Purple said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"B-but, why?" Tak asked. "Why do I have to help _him?_ Why can't I just _kill_ him… and b-be… by myself…?"

Red and Purple frowned simultaneously.

"Uh… is there something wrong, Tak?" Red asked, sounding genuinely concerned. "You seem… stressed."

"_STRESSED?_ _ME?_" Tak screamed. She hurled the blade at the monitor, and it went straight over it and hit the wall. Red flinched, and Purple almost fell over from seeing the blade hurtling toward them, even if via transmission.

"Mmyeah, I order you not to 'kill him and be by yourself'," Red said flatly. "Irkens don't attempt to kill Irkens, period."

"_Unless it's Skoodge_," Purple hissed.

"Heh. Skoodge," Red and Purple said in unison. They sighed.

"I'm surprised our last demonstration didn't finish him off," Red murmured. "Anyway…"

"Can your order her to untie me?" I asked.

Red and Purple glanced at me, as if they had forgotten that I was there.

"Oh," Red said. "Sure. Tak, untie him."

Tak stared grudgingly at me.

Crossing his arms, he repeated the statement with a firm "Ahem. Tak. Untie."

Tak bent over me and unknotted the rope. Sufficiently loosened, I stretched until it came undone and fell around me.

"_We're just keeping her there so she doesn't bother us, right?_" Purple whispered.

"_Shh_!" Red whispered back. "Okay, have fun!"

The screen went black.

I grinned at Tak, and she glared back at me. I glanced at the clock. It read 11:50 P.M.

"G'night," I said, standing up, about to make for the kitchen.

"Zim," Tak said. I paused, and faced her. "Zim, I hate you. I would have killed you if not for the Tallest. You should be grateful to them. However, I will obey my supreme leaders and work with you for the greater good." She extended a scraped-up bare hand. She glanced at it, and hid it behind her back. She raised her left hand instead.

I reluctantly took it, and broke the contact as quickly as possible. I continued walking to the elevator, but I could feel her eyes on my back.


	3. Problem?

I woke up with a start, staring at the ceiling of a room in my base. I hurried to my feet. I felt groggy – not at all like myself. My first thought was about going to Skool, and my second was Tak.

_Come on, Zim. Be nice to her. She's been through a lot,_ a voice in my head urged. I frowned. I didn't remember it being there before. _Come on. You want to do something nice for her, don't you?_

_No,_ I thought flatly.

_Of course you do,_ the voice continued. _You want to make her happy in any way you can. You want to do whatever she wants you to do. You want to be whatever she needs you to be._

_Whoa, creepy,_ I thought. _Stupid dreams, probably…_

_Better get ready for Skool_, I – or the voice – suggested.

I went up the elevator and emerged in my kitchen. I grabbed some cereal and put it in a bowl, and stuck a spoon in it.

"Zim!" Tak called from my living room. A sudden pang of guilt hit me unexpectedly when I realized that she had spent the night on my sofa. However, I shook the thought away quickly – why would I care? She tried to steal my mission – _twice_ – and she tried to _kill _me! "Is that cereal? Could you bring me a bowl?"

I rolled my eyes. The Tallest never ordered me to bring her any cereal.

_Come ON… you want to do something nice for her, don't you?_

I stared blankly at the cereal box. "Fine!" I called back. I took a few seconds to pour another bowl, and then I carried both bowls to the living room. I handed her the first bowl, and reluctantly sat next to her on the couch.

"Thank you," she purred, wearing a smirk. She smelled like cleansing chalk, and I noticed absently that her previously-injured hand was wrapped up with what looked like medical gauze. She held the spoon with her left hand. I looked up to see her dark purple eyes focused on me with a curious expression. I glanced away.

I made short work of breakfast, and dropped the bowl on the counter. I popped in my contacts and put on my wig, but when I looked at the mirror to see if I looked presentable, the small white corner of something on my head caught my eye. I took my wig off, and I saw that where I had been hit, Tak had cleaned and dressed the cut with the same gauze that was on her hand.

_She did it because she loves you,_ the voice said. _She loves you so much. You should be nice to her, to pay her back. She's so nice to you. She's really nice._

I frowned. _She's the one that hit me in the first place._ That seemed to shut my conscience up. I put my wig back on, but when I glanced at Tak, she had another indecipherable smirk. I walked out the door.

I made it to my locker at Skool, and Dib was there, as usual.

"Zim, what happened?" he asked, uncharacteristically concerned.

I paused for a moment, taken aback by his tone. Then, I furrowed my brow. "What do you mean?" Before he could reply, I remembered my head wound. "Oh, yeah, I was hit. In the head."

"Oh, so that's why you've been absent for a week," Dib said. He laughed. "And I thought you were up to something."

I dropped the binder that I was holding. Dib glanced back at me with a look of curiosity.

_A week?_ I thought. _I've been absent for a week?_ My thoughts fluttered back to when I was hit. That day was October 21st, a Thursday.

"Oh," I said weakly, feigning surprise. "Stupid binder." I picked it up, and looked back at Dib. "What day of the week is it, again?"

"Wednesday; why?" Dib asked in an uncertain tone.

"Oh, no reason. I, er…" I ran a few lies through my mind. "I have a project due on Friday."

"Oh," Dib said. That seemed to satisfy him for the moment.

I shut my locker, and went to class. "October 27th" was written on the board. I thought about when I had looked at the clock the day I was hit. It had said 11:50 P.M., and the calendar function had said that it was the 21st. How could I have lost six days between falling asleep and waking up? It didn't make sense…

I went through the motions for the rest of the day, and arrived home in my Impala with a sour expression. I went through the door, locked it quickly, and sat down on the couch. I didn't see Tak.

_You should look for her, and see if she has anything that you need to do… _the voice suggested.

_I'm not her maid, _I thought irritably.

The voice made the mental equivalent of a shrug.

"Zim!" Tak called. "Is that you?"

"No, it's JFK. _I-er-a_ have come for Castro," I muttered. "Let's load some _mah-bles_ in my _cah_ and we'll go see _Stah Wars_…"

_Don't be sarcastic. Be kind to her. She loves you, you know._

"Yes, it's me!" I spat, hating my newfound super-kind conscience. I walked down the hallway and saw Tak leaning on the side of the doorframe.

"I think I'll use this empty room for my bedroom," she said flatly. While she was talking, I felt like something was… off. "Is that fine with you?"

I was going to say "No, I was going to put my underwater squirrel experiment in here," but what came out was this:

"Of course you can."

_Well done, Zim. You're learning quickly,_ the voice said, honey-sweet and dripping with condescension. _Pretty soon, you'll be able to serve your new master all by yourself, but not yet._

I frowned. My 'conscience' was really starting to scare me.

Tak gave me a smirk as if she knew that I would have said 'yes'. She went wordlessly into the room. I noticed that she had already set up a bed from a cot from the emergency supplies in my lab, some sheets, and a pillow.

_You should tell her –_

"Good night," I said.

…_Good…_

I broke away from where I was standing as quickly as I could, and I walked quickly down the hallway to the living room. I went to the kitchen and descended down the elevator to my lab. That's when it hit me.

_**Where was GIR?**_

**[Author's Note:**

**I hope you're all enjoying the story so far. There will definitely be two more chapters, but there **_**could**_** be three. Maybe.**

**~ClockwerkOrange**

**P.S. Review. Seriously – do it.]**


	4. Time Limit

I woke up, and I looked around. Everything was fine – I was just in my lab. I had fallen asleep at the keyboard for some reason.

"Computer!" I said, and waited.

…And waited…

There was no reply.

"_Computer!_" I repeated.

Suddenly, I felt horribly alone – I was terrified. First GIR, and now the computer… I stood up slowly, and my clothing felt abnormally tight. I looked down.

"Wha-…?"

I was dressed like a French maid.

"Problem, Zim?" Tak asked slowly. I heard her boots clack quietly on the floor as she walked near me. I wanted to hit her. She had… _undressed me. _I felt violated. "Zim. I want you to clean this place up," she ordered me. "I'm bringing in some arms dealers from the Empire to help conquer this planet, and I want _my_ house in tip-top condition." She smirked.

"Your house?" I asked irritably. "This isn't your-…"

_Zim. Don't you want to be nice to her? Don't you remember everything we went over?_

My mouth suddenly felt dry.

_Of course you do,_ the voice continued. _You want to make her happy in any way you can. You want to do whatever she wants you to do. You want to be whatever she needs you to be._

My mind began to buzz with broken thoughts, and I felt dizzy. Tak put a hand on my shoulder. "You're mine now, Zim. Remember that."

"I w-want to make you happy in any way I can… D-do wh-whatever you want me to do… wh-whatever you need me to be…" I said quietly, feeling dead on the inside.

Tak's smirk had expanded into a wide smile. "Well _done,_ Zim," she said. "Polish everything and I might let you kiss me on the cheek."

The happiness from that hopeful possibility suddenly degenerated into seething fury when I regained control of myself. "What did you do to me?" I asked quietly.

Her eyes widened. Whatever I just regained control over, she hadn't expected it. She regained her composure and put her smirk back up. "Maybe a few more hours, then."

I began to back up. "Y-you _did_ something to me…" I repeated, shaking my head. "This is wrong. You're inside my head."

"Oh, not me _personally…_ I just altered it a little bit," she said cheerfully. "In a few hours, you'll be my willing slave, doing everything I want you to do out of love…"

I grimaced, and looked at the computer monitor. I noticed something odd… the computer was off, but I could see my reflection in it. I turned slightly.

My PAK's dots weren't their usual reddish pink color. They were purple. I let my jaw drop. "You modified my PAK's internal data… while I was asleep… the first night…" I felt like killing her. Killing her, and hiding the body. "That's why I was out for a week."

"Ooh, didn't expect you to notice that little angle of the whole thing," she said mockingly. "Not as stupid as you used to be?"

"Fuck you," I said flatly. I pressed the power button on the computer.

"Ugh. Morning," the computer said flatly.

"Computer, please put up a barrier between me and Tak," I said calmly.

"What?" Tak asked.

A pink barrier suddenly appeared between us.

"Now, please examine my PAK for any signs of tampering."

"Well, it's purple now," the computer stated.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I know. What else?"

"Someone appears to have implanted foreign code inside your internal memory. I can't remove it without crippling your mind," it said. There was a pause. "You don't want me to cripple your mind, right?"

"No," I said flatly. "Is there any other way to remove it?"

"Well, it's encrypted, so if someone had a password or code to remove it, then that might work."

_Good, _I thought. _Now I'll just trap Tak and make her fix me._

"Computer, please put up a barrier around Tak," I ordered.

"Tak isn't in the lab anymore," the computer said.

I frowned.

"Hey, Zim!" Tak shouted, from the front door, I assumed. "I _was_ just going to let you be my docile servant for the rest of your life, but now I see I'm going to have to initiate part two of my plan."

There was silence.

"Good bye, Zim!" she called, and then I heard footsteps dashing away.

"Wow, what a great 'part two'," I muttered. That was about when I felt a sharp, shooting pain in my spine.

"Uh, sir?" the computer said.

"What?" I asked, disoriented and dizzy.

"Your PAK just executed a hidden program or something. You're going to die in three days."

"What?" I repeated. I sat down, slowly, and smoothed out my French maid uniform. "I'm going to die."

"Um… yeah."

"Is there anything that I can do to prevent that?" I asked slowly, oddly calm.

"Unless you have that password like I said before, it can't be stopped or removed," the computer said. "The 'docile slave' part has stopped, though."

"Oh, that's wonderful news," I said quietly. "I guess I'll go to Skool, then."

"Uh, master?" the computer asked.

"What?" I said quietly, broken.

"You're dying."

"I know. But there's nothing that I can do about it. She's bested me; she's won," I stated. "There's nothing that I can do."

Computer was quiet while I left. I changed into my usual outfit, grabbed my contacts and wig, and got in my Impala. Tak had vanished. I went to Skool, and, once again, Dib was at my locker.

"Good morning, Dib," I said quietly.

He stared at me.

"What?" I asked wearily.

"I don't think you've ever greeted me without an insult or a glare," he muttered. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, maybe my worst enemy would like to hear of my problems," I said mockingly. "Well, here it is: Tak came back, and she's implanted some code in my PAK that'll make me die in three days! Happy?"

"She… Tak? She's back?" Dib asked.

"Yeah, and she's meeting some Irken arms dealers so that she can destroy your planet!" I roared. No one else in the hall paid attention to me, though. Honestly, I would have wished that they would.

Dib frowned. "You know what?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"We're gonna stop her."

I frowned. "Two enemies…"

"Working together," Dib added.

"For the greater good?" I asked, turning it into a question.

He clapped a hand down on my right shoulder. "Hey, Zim. You're the only one who knows I'm not crazy." He looked around. "Lay low for tonight. I'm gonna talk to one of my contacts in the Swollen Eyeball. I think he has just what we need."


	5. Death

**[Author's Note:**

**At the moment of the story where Dib turns up the volume to the song, I highly suggest you listen to "Wild Side" by Motley Crue when it plays in the story. If you do not… well….**

_**GAME OVER, OKAY?**_

**~ClockwerkOrange]**

I awoke suddenly to the sound of someone knocking at my door. I stood up shakily from where I was reclining on the couch, and walked to the door. I unlocked it, and opened it a little.

"Zim, it's me," Dib said quietly, peeking through the crack. I nodded, and opened the door enough to let him in. He rushed in quickly in the semi-dim light of the sunset, and I noticed that he was carrying a plastic box that most closely resembled a violin case.

"Zim, you look like hell," Dib stated.

I turned and glanced at myself in the mirror. My eyes looked a tad dull, and I seemed a bit gaunt and tired looking. "I _am_ dying, you know," I said blearily, and then went over and half-collapsed on the couch. Dib followed, and plopped down on the sofa, odd case in his lap. There was an eyeball logo on the left side of the box.

"This is it," he said. "What I got from the Eyeballs." He unlatched the case, and opened it. I stared, surprised, at its contents. I looked at the foreign object sitting inside the box, and wondered why it looked so familiar. Then, I saw the pieces off to the side in another small indentation of Styrofoam that completed the classic profile.

"That's an AK-47," I said blankly, staring uncomfortably at Dib. He shot me a confused glance back.

"What, did you think I was going to walk into the group of alien _arms dealers _and ask politely for your life?" He snorted dismissively.

I frowned. "Why didn't you order one of these when I was terrorizing you in Grade Skool?" I frowned deeper. "In fact, why didn't you order one of these when I was terrorizing you in Middle and High Skool?"

"I was going to kill you if you killed a human," he said flatly. "The only reason I gave you that was because you had maintained the stalemate for so long that I actually respected you, you know."

I glanced away. _He could have won any time he wanted,_ I thought blankly. _Then again, I never used any heavy weaponry for the sole purpose of killing him, either…_

"Alright, Zim. We're going. Can you walk?" Dib asked. He fixed the iconic curved clip onto the assault rifle, and with a firm clack, it was in place. I noticed that he was wearing one of those ski masks, synonymous with burglars – his mask was only on the top of his head, though, like a hat. His jacket was completely buttoned up, too.

"Of course I can walk," I muttered, but I felt dizzy upon standing. After recovering from the spell, I noticed that Dib was still fiddling with the assault rifle – now he had attached a strap to it and fastened it onto his back. I frowned, again. "Are you actually going to use that?"

He stared at me. "Zim – _the_ Zim – is opposing the use of weaponry?" he asked incredulously. He clapped a hand on my shoulder. "This is war, Zim. It's your life or hers, remember that. You drive, I shoot."

We walked to my Impala, and I unlocked the door and climbed in. After pausing for him to enter as well, I turned the key. The engine started, and I put the car in drive. I noticed vaguely that night had fallen.

"I was doing some investigating, and I'm pretty confident that they're meeting in the forest, just outside of town," he said, looking around. "That way."

After following his directions, I eventually found myself driving down a dirt road. We saw blue and purple lights in a clearing.

"Quick, pull in next to that boarded-up farmhouse," Dib instructed. I carefully slowed down just past the decrepit building, and we squinted at the lights. There were two blue Spittle Runners, a purple and green Voot Runner, and a medium-size cargo vessel. I could make out the shapes of a few Irkens. "Okay, Zim." He stared at me. "Remember – this is war." There was a brief shuffle as he unstrapped his AK-47 and rolled down the window. He held the rifle by the stock with his right hand, and reached into his pocket with his left. He took out an unmarked CD, and put it into the CD reader of my car. He turned the volume way down, and pressed the "stop" button.

"What are you doing?" I whispered.

"You'll see in a second. Do you see that part of the barn that's fallen apart?" he asked. I looked past the house to the barn in the overgrown field. It was just before the meeting, and a large piece of wood had fallen, forming a kind of ramp…

"You're not suggesting that I drive up that, are you?" I asked blankly.

"Yeah, I am," Dib said.

I sighed. "Fine. Let's just get this over with."

Dib nodded, climbed up and out of the seat, and sat on the windowsill of the car. He leaned slightly onto the roof, and used his legs to keep him stable. He aimed forward with the assault rifle. He looked down at me. "Press play, and turn it up. Max volume," he added. "Then go."

I did so, and _Wild Side_ by Motley Crue began blazing through the opening fanfare. I frowned at the loud Earth music being played during this grim work, but I still stepped down on the accelerator, and we began to pick up speed. We glided up ramp at around sixty miles per hour, and flew over some shrubbery directly into the clearing.

"_Game over_!" Dib shouted, and began firing at the first Spittle Runner. It took about two seconds for it to explode, as he was aiming directly where the fuel tank was. It exploded in bright blue fire, and the Irkens began running for cover. Several pulled out plasma-based firearms and began firing at us. I went straight past the two remaining spacecraft as Dib hit the Voot Runner, causing it to explode as well. I realized absently that the shields were built to repel energy weapons, not projectile ones. The primitive human weapons could destroy a finely tuned piece of Irken machinery in seconds…

A bolt of plasma shot past the vehicle, and I pulled the emergency break and turned sharply to the right, spinning us around 180 degrees. I rapidly undid the break, and hit the accelerator again. We shot forward, back toward the defenders, and the last Spittle Runner blew up right after we began picking up speed again. Dib tossed the empty clip, and grabbed another one from the passenger seat. He reloaded the AK-47 quickly, and began firing directly at the Irkens. A few collapsed quickly, and the others tried to run for cover behind the Spittle Runner we had destroyed first – as the flames had dissipated a bit – but the metal projectiles were much faster than plasma, and they never made it. I glanced at Dib. The muzzle flare from the gunshots illuminated his face for brief instants, and I could see a deranged smile plastered across his face, like something you would expect from a Jhonen Vasquez comic.

"Look, there's Tak," Dib said coolly, easing back into his seat. "Slow down. We need to have a chat with her." He cut the music.

We pulled up alongside to a feverish Tak, looking around for the closest body to try to scavenge a pistol off of. Dib exited the car, and aimed the gun at her. "Hands up," he ordered. She did so, reluctantly. "In the car," he continued, gesturing to the back seat with his gun.

After Tak was in the vehicle, she shot a furious glare at me. She was silent as Dib entered.

"Zim, pull up inside the barn," he said quietly. He glared back at Tak.

After I had done so, he ordered Tak out of the vehicle. At gunpoint, she didn't refuse. That's when Dib smashed her in the back of the head with the butt of the AK-47. She collapsed on the ground with a small gasp, and rolled over. He tossed me the gun, which I caught clumsily. I held it uncertainly while Dib reached inside his jacket, and pulled out a jar. It was filled with a black liquid. He unscrewed the lid, and sniffed at the contents.

"Ever heard of 'acid' before, Tak?" Dib asked slowly. He held it above her, and she lay there, frozen, terrified, and silent. "Fix Zim's PAK."

"No," Tak rasped. In response, Dib splashed the jar of black fluid on her. She started screaming. Dib tossed the jar to the floor, where it thudded quietly.

"You just got splashed with baking soda, tonic water, and black food dye," he said flatly. "Fix Zim's PAK."

"Fuck you," she rasped, mildly soggy. She gritted her teeth when the pollutants in the Earth water began to burn her skin, albeit less than tap water – it was purified tonic water.

Dib smiled. "That's okay…" he said, reaching into his jacket and withdrawing an identical jar filled with black fluid, "Here's the real thing."

Tak paled visibly, and then sighed. She seemed to relax all of her muscles, and her head rolled to one side, almost as if she had fainted.

"Fix… Zim's… PAK…" Dib said quietly, unscrewing the lid slowly, deliberately. "If this stuff can give humans permanent scars, what do you think it would do to Irkens…?" He growled when she didn't reply. "Do it, dammit!"

"Dib, stop," I said wearily. "She's not going to answer."

Dib glanced at me. "Why?"

"She's dead," I said quietly, gesturing to the small puddle of blue blood expanding from her. He hadn't noticed it due to the black baking soda-tonic water juice.

He stared at her body. "B-but… I didn't shoot her… she doesn't have any…?" He carefully turned her over. The blood was coming from a hole on her back. It had pierced her PAK, and her left lung. _That was why she was rasping her words…_

"We have to leave. The Earth police force will be on us soon," I said.

"But…?" Dib asked with a frown while I unsecured Tak's PAK.

"But nothing," I snapped.

We both silently got into my car, and I dropped Dib off at his house without a word. I headed to mine, and parked the car out front. I walked in to see GIR sitting on the sofa.

"Master!" he greeted, hopping up. He bounced over to me, and his feet made squeaky sounds as he walked over in his green dog disguise.

"Hello, GIR," I said, crouching down to his level. I tossed Tak's PAK onto the couch, and patted GIR on the head. "GIR, I'm going to have to ask you to go to Dib's house."

"Puppy-head?" GIR asked. "_Why_?"

I felt like I was about to cry. Me, an Irken – an _Invader!_ – cry. "It'll just be for a little while, I promise. He'll explain everything when I'm… when you go over." The lie left a bad taste in my mouth.

"Okay!" GIR said, and dashed out of the house without another word. "_Bye!_" he called.

_That must be the first time he completely obeyed one of my orders_, I thought sadly. I closed and locked the door, and sat on the sofa, next to Tak's PAK. I frowned, and picked it up. I went to the lab, and sat it placed it on the scanner I always used on any electronics that had gone bad.

"Computer, analyze this PAK and tell me what is wrong with it."

"Processing… _PROCESSING…_" There was a pause. "There's a hole in the air translator."

I walked over to one of the supply boxes and took a shiny new air translator. I grabbed the PAK, squeezed it to pop out the cover, and unlatched the safety lock on the inside. It opened, and I saw where the bullet had gone through past the hole in the cover. I unlocked the air translation module, and inserted the new one. I redid the locks and popped the cover back on with a firm metallic clack. Then, I stared at it.

"Master, where did you get this PAK, and why did you fix it?"

"Silence! I do not have to explain myself to you," I snapped. I held the PAK gingerly as I went back up the elevator. As the elevator rose, I stared at the object.

_I couldn't._

_I wouldn't!_

_It was unthinkable…!_

…

**End.**

**[Author's Note: **

**Sometimes, I scare myself.**

**~ClockwerkOrange]**


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